Game board



E. V. SHUE GAME BOARD Jan. 20, 1942.

Filed A ril 13, 1940 I l I INVENTOR 5'664. V/xvralv 5/105 M AMAM KTTORNEYJI Patented Jan. 20, 1942 UNITED STATES arr Er ca GAME BOARD Earl Vinton Shue, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application April 13, 1940, Serial No. 329,447

2 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in game devices.

The object of my invention is to provide a game board and game apparatus especially adapted to carry out, with appropriate handicaps. a game of skill involving propulsion of a playing element by means of a jet or blast of air.

More particularly stated, it is the object of my invention to provide a game board having playing stations for a number of players and providing in conjunction with such stations a special trap for the playing element, special turrets for the mounting and directing of bellows units to create an air stream over the playing surface, and novel simple means for the formation of the trap, the turret and, in fact, the players entire station, whereby to make a strong, cheaply constructed game board.

Another object of my invention is to provide a game board and rimmed margin for the playing surface in combination with a plurality of players stations, the construction of which is adapted to assist in the assembly and reinforcement of the entire game device.

Other objects of my invention will become apparent upon examination of the description of my game device as hereinafter set forth.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a plan view of my game board showing the various players stations and air jet forming units, two of said units being shown fragmentarily.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view in vertical section of one of the traps for the playing element used in my game.

Fig. 4 is a perspective of one corner of my game board and showing a player's station and trap.

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

Underlying several of the objectives of my invention is my fundamental commercial purpose to manufacture a game device of the type hereinafter described wherein the various parts are economically made and one of the commercially important requirements is that the foundation of the board itself constitute a sheet of fiber board. Therefore, as shown in the drawings, the actual board is a card-board or fiber board sheet II] approximately 15 inches square, although it will be obvious from the following description that various sizes of board may be used.

To define the active playing area of the board,

I provide rim II of suitable material such as strap iron approximately three-fourths inches in height. Within this circular space defined by thisrim II, the players of my game propel a light ball I2 made out of cork or other suitable material adapted to be easily propelled by a jet of air expelled through a nozzle I3 of a bellows-like air propulsion unit I4.

Each of the air-propulsion units hi is manipulated from a position on my game board which I shall term a players station and in the board shown in drawing, there are four of these players stations I5, I6, I], and I3. Each of the players stations includes a block I9 against which the rim may bear. This block is secured to a corner portion of the board and I prefer to secure them by means of nails driven through the board Ill into the block as shown in Fig. 2. The block I9 is slightly thinner than the vertical dimension of the rim II so that a clip 20 secured to the top of the block and overlying the rim I I may bear upon the top of the rim and secure it tightly in position upon the board. The clip is of such length as to extend beyond the rim in over-lying relation to a portion of the playing surface. At 2| and 22 the clip is apertured to receive nail-like pendant trap devices 23 and 24 respectively. The shanks of the nails are somewhat smaller than the aperture through which they extend. These trap devices are supported by the clip at a distance from the rim I I slightly less than the diameter of the ball I2. The trap devices 23 and 24, therefore, constitute in conjunction with the rim II, a trap to resist the movement of the ball and tend to retain the ball beneath the clip 20.

Another aperture 25 through clip 20 is aligned with a bore 26 to receive the shank of a turret member 2! having the general configuration of an eye-bolt which, when in position, assists in maintaining the clip in alignment upon the block I9 thus making it unnecessary to have more than one screw 28 to hold the clip 20 upon the block I9.

My air-propulsion unit I4 includes a collapsible but form retentive bulb 35 preferably with a generally tubular nozzle 36 having various diameters, the largest of which at 31 is adapted to engage the mouth of the bulb 35, an intermediate diameter 38 and a smaller jet diameter 39 having a shoulder 40 therebetween to abut rected upon any portion of the playing surface except that directly beneath the clip 20 with which it is associated.

It will be noted that the bulb 35 of the unit I4 is generally bulbous but is flattened upon its sides as shown clearly in Fig. 1. I have found that this shape and formation of the bulb is least tiring to the player and is adapted, incidentally, not only to the configuration of the hand of the user, but is also resistant to undesired rolling of the unit.

The game is played by two or more players, each of whom assume control of one of the units H. The light ball I2 is placed upon the playing surface within the rim II and all of the players may project air streams near or against the ball at will during the playing time. The extremely light ball is therefore propelled here and there upon the playing surface except as resistance to movement of the ball is provided by th trap devices 23 and 24.

If the ball l2 strikes one of the trap devices 23 or 24 it is pendularly moved and since the space between the two devices is less than the diameter of the ball and the space between either of the trap devices and the rim II is less than the diameter of the ball, there is a tendency for the ball, as it approaches the trap with considerable speed, to press aside one or the other or both of the trap devices 23 and 24 and because of the resistance offered, to remain within the trap, since the very light ball after squeezing into the trap lacks inertia necessary to again squeeze out of it. A player who permits the ball to enter the trap at his station loses a point.

Each of the blocks I9 is provided with a number of holes 45, ten in number, into which a tally pin 46 may be inserted. Thus, as the tally pin is inserted in one hole after the other. a record can be made of the number of times that the ball has been trapped at that particular station.

From the above description, it will be seen that I have provided an extremely interesting gam with a game board which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture. The materials of the board, of the rim, and of the stations are of the simplest and most inexpensive character, and the rim II is held to the board in a Way that adds to the strength of the entire assembly when the clips 20 are drawn down tightly.

It will also be seen that although my playing board is of relatively weak, economical material, the stresses due to pressure inwardly against the turrets is braced by the clips 20 which bear downwardly on the rim and the rim distributes the pressure over a large portion of the board.

I claim:

1. A playing board having a playing surface provided with a rim to define its margins, spaced blocks outside the rim, a clip for each block secured thereto and extending over the rim and over a portion of the playing surface, a nozzled air stream motivating device and a playing element movable over the playing surface thereby, and a. nozzle directing turret above the clip whereby to prevent a player from directing air stream directly at the playing element under the clip.

2. A game board of card-board like characteristics, a rim clampingly applied thereupon to define a playing area on the board, a block secured to the board outside the rim, a clip applied to the top of the block and to the top of the rim, and a turret extending through the clip and into the block whereby pressure against the turret in the direction of the defined playing surface will be braced by increased pressure on the rim and against the board.

EARL VINTON SHUE. 

